The Desert Fox

Field Marshall Erwin Rommel was a magnificent leader of men, a brilliant strategist and a legend to both the Germans and the Allies alike. Told through the eyes of Lieutenant Colonel Desmond Young, this is the hidden story of Rommel and his betrayal of the Nazis and Hitler. Young himself only once saw the man close up, saluting him across the sands as a captured prisoner of war, but was immediately taken with his demeanour. Upon hearing of Rommel’s death via various dubious rumours, Young resolved to find out the truth. Once the war was over and he was free to travel, he ventured throughout Europe piecing together Rommel’s story from friends and colleagues and even Rommel’s family. This then is the tale as he learned it.

The Desert Fox, as both sides knew Rommel, was Hitler’s close friend and most trusted adjutant. In 1941, tiring of the war and personal illness, Rommel learned of a plot to overthrow Hitler through a doctor friend. Whilst not actively engaged in conspiracy, he did however aid and abet the conspirators. What follows is the manner in which he handled the affair and how he stood up to Hitler, personally bringing down the wrath of the Führer. After Rommel’s death and at the end of the war, having learned of Rommel’s aid, Churchill himself addressed the world to call Rommel a hero.

This film plays almost like a documentary, using actual footage of wartime bombings and fighting. Very informative whilst still being immensely interesting, this is a war film with a difference. We don’t witness Rommel’s great victories, nor do we see him engaged in battle, but rather this is a portrait of his family life and his heroism leading up to his death. An incredible man with an inordinate level of bravery and intellect, this film, made in 1951, is still well worth watching 50 odd years later. I truly enjoyed it and actually learned something about this Desert Fox guy. What else is interesting is an Englishman tells the tale, lending credence to it without glossing over anything.

Entirely black and white and full frame, this movie still looks okay considering it’s over 50 years old. There are some instances of light flickering that run for several minutes, but these aren’t so bad or disruptive, just a little off-putting. As to shadows and blacks, they all seem to come across okay with no real destruction of detail, however as far as film artefacts go, this is an artefact apocalypse. There’s plenty of stuff throughout the film, including some black vertical scratching and as to the stock or actual war footage, it’s riddled with it. However, this does lend a feeling of authenticity to the movie that may not have been there should it not have been included, so I tried to ignore it as far as the movie goes. Otherwise an okay Fox transfer, but not the best by their usual excellent standard.

The sound is fairly well delivered, though only in Dolby Digital stereo. The narrative is well spoken and competently read without inflection or emotion, informing us exactly as it’s supposed to. On the subject of voices, however, James Mason playing Rommel suffers from a curious German accent that comes and goes to begin with before disappearing altogether toward the end. Deliberately done to subliminally associate him with the Allies? Who knows. What I do know is that he sounds very much like Pierce Brosnan does today. Weird. And while we’re about it, there are a lot of German accents missing from the mostly German characters. What’s worse, there are even some dodgy ones that are sort of indiscriminate.

Musically, the film has been given a fairly good treatment, though the music is fairly benign throughout and under-scored (rousing war themes during file footage notwithstanding). Of course, there are the genuine sound effects used in these pieces, but occasionally throughout the film there are a couple of stock jobs - particularly in the opening sequence, in which there is blazing gunfire and explosions all around. Funnily enough in this bit there are dead people clutching their stomachs everywhere yet not a hint of dark blood or even wetness. Just like on The A-Team!

Just a 4:3 grainy, well-loved and unrestored trailer, unfortunately. Some more info on Rommel would have been great in the form of a doco or featurette, but alas. However, it has a redeeming feature in its blazing titles over action in which we are told this is: ‘Thrill-thundering adventure to inflame your emotions!’

Works for me.

This is a very interesting film with solid performances from James Mason as Rommel and a youthful Jessica Tandy as his wife. Perhaps a difficult choice of roles so close to the end of the war, but these two actors have truly attacked their tasks with courage and commitment, giving us a film that even today still stands up as a great war epic. Told honestly and without over-sentimentalising the story, this is a strong film in which tension slowly builds until the final curtain, regardless of the fact we know how it ends. Well made and well shot and well worth a look.